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Lily and Javi were his cousin’s orphaned children, two beautiful youngsters he and Rory had adopted months before.
“Life can be weird.” When she frowned, Cruz raised a hand of caution. “Sometimes coincidental timing messes things up. But on first look, I have to agree with you. The timing sounds contrived, and while it’s unfortunate, it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before, according to my friend. She described it as an upscale bargaining point in pricey marriage breakups.”
Josie wanted to hit someone. Or something. The very thought of using a child as a bartering chip made her stomach rise up toward her throat. “That’s despicable.”
“A lot of folks think that fathers or the whole two-parent idea is overrated, and they’ll cite successful single parents to make their case. But if true, to deliberately lie to an agency with a marriage requirement for this particular adoption is fraud. We just don’t know for sure that’s what they did.”
“How expensive is the inquiry?” She hated to ask, and she’d pay whatever was required, but it wasn’t like she was made of money. Far from it.
“Pro bono,” he told her.
She scoffed. “Cruz, I can pay my own way. I have to. This is my deal, not yours, and don’t think you can slip this woman money behind my back and take care of things. I can handle this.”
“Good to know, but I mean it,” he told her. “Cait had me organize her parents’ retirement funds last year, and I was able to get them out of a serious logjam of events before their funds tumbled into nothingness. She’s happy to return the favor now. No cost, Josie. Although if you make me barbecue now and again, I’ll consider that my tip.”
No cost. She’d been fully prepared to hand over a large chunk of her resettlement money from Carrington. Now she wouldn’t have to. “And you’ll call me as soon as she knows anything?”
“Yes. Or I’ll stop by and see you.” He indicated The Square, the upscale shopping and gathering spot in the town’s center, with a glance toward the window. “This town hears everything, even with windows closed and doors locked.”
Josie knew the truth in that, another reason she’d kept her silence. She’d embarrassed her family by being the talk of the town once. She’d done her best to avoid it since. “Like any small town, I suppose.” She stood up and shook his hand. “Thank you, Cruz. And remember—”
“My lips are sealed.” He tapped the Carrington contract. “Let me tweak this and I’ll send it on to them and you for approval. Oh, and Josie?”
He was going to tell her this was a stupid idea, to accept the Carrington offer and work right there, with Jacob and Addie close by. And he’d be right. She knew that.
Cruz said nothing of the kind. He reached out and took her hands in his. “This is a gutsy move on your part.”
Gutsy or foolish? She waited for him to continue.
“And I want to tell you that any mother who can do what you’ve done, to put the best interests of her child first, both when you gave her up and when you risked your life to save hers…” He gripped her hands. “That ranks you pretty high up on my list. Sacrificial love is a wonderful thing.”
The praise came from the lips of a man who’d had an egocentric mother. If anyone appreciated good parenting, it was Cruz Maldonado. “Thank you, Cruz.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
She walked back to her car in the municipal lot, conflicted.
She didn’t want to risk having Addie in the middle of grown-up drama. But how else was she to ascertain the O’Neills’ history, and Addie’s placement with Jacob? What could go wrong besides absolutely everything?
If Jacob discovered her true identity, what would stop him from leaving with Addie? A talented man who’d overseen major projects could work anywhere. He could leave at a moment’s notice, and then where would she be?
But she couldn’t stand by, inactive. She couldn’t assume things were all right for Addie, when so much had gone wrong in her early life. If nothing else, she needed the truth. Yes, she’d stayed silent of her own volition. She’d had her reasons, and she’d trusted the systems in place.
